Keogh ‘Proud’ To Reach 500 Starts

Richard Keogh believes that he’s reaching his ‘prime years’ after making his 500th career start in Derby County’s goalless draw against Cardiff City on Saturday.

The captain produced a typically solid performance as Gary Rowett’s side held the Sky Bet Championship league leaders at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Keogh admits that he doesn’t give himself enough credit for his achievements after a landmark afternoon in the Welsh capital.

He told RamsTV: “I’ve just done it through hard work and I’m proud of myself to play that many games.

“Sometimes I’ve got to take stock of that, I’m probably a bit too harsh on myself at times and I’ve probably got to give myself a bit more credit.

“I feel as fit as I’ve ever been – all the testing and the stats show that I’m in great shape so I feel like I’m coming into my prime years and hopefully there’s a lot more to come.

“I just love playing football. I love training, I love playing games and I love everything about it so hopefully I can keep playing games and have a really good season.”

It was the second point in a week for the Rams following on from the draw at Brentford in midweek, and Keogh felt that – like at Griffin Park – Derby probably should have taken all three points.

He added: “They’ve only lost one game all season and they’re top of the league for a reason, so to come here and play like we did, there was a little bit of disappointment that we didn’t nick it.

“We had some good chances – the keeper made a really good save and we hit the post.

“It was a good performance and it’s always nice when you get a clean sheet as well.”

Along with four of his teammates, Keogh will now join up with his international side for the final round of World Cup qualifiers, and the skipper is pleased that the squad are going into the break on a positive note – especially with the derby against Nottingham Forest up next.

Keogh said: “It’s just a bit of a shame that we’ve got the international break now but it’s obviously a great game to look forward to when we get back.

“We’re unbeaten in three but we could have had a few more wins for sure, but I think we’re definitely heading in the right direction.”